physician, educator, b. Haverhill, N.H. Ladd taught school and studied medicine in Massachusetts before migrating to Shullsburg about 1842. FIe was active in the organization of the Mining Region Teachers' Association in 1848, and an early member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, of which he was subsequently a vice-president. He was elected state superintendent of schools in 1851. Through regional meetings he organized the Wisconsin Teachers' Association and called the first state teachers' convention in 1853. Well known for his school reform program, he frequently advocated better management of school funds and a profitable disposition of the state's school lands. He worked for higher teachers' salaries, better school-room equipment, and more adequate school libraries. Following his term in office, Ladd briefly resumed his medical practice. Hist. of Lafayette Co. (Chicago, 1881); Wis. Mag. Hist., 1; WPA MS.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Azel P. Ladd Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]